Special Purpose P-N Junction Diode
Chapter Name : Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices And Simple Circuits |
Sub Topic Code : 101_12_14_08_02 |
Topic Name : Special Purpose P-N Junction Diode |
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Sub Topic Name : Zener Diode As A Voltage Regulator |
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Introduction
A crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals.
Pre-Requisites:
Diode
Activity:
Silicon (Si) is the most widely used material in semiconductor devices.
Real Life Question:
What is Voltage Regulator?
Key Words / FlashCards
| Key Words | Definitions (pref. in our own words) |
|---|---|
| A Voltage Regulator | A voltage regulator is designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level. |
Learning aids / Gadgets
| Gadgets | How it can be used |
|---|---|
| microprocessors | All transistor types can be used as the building blocks of logic gates, which are fundamental in the design of digital circuits. Transistors act as on-off switches; in the MOSFET, for instance, the voltage applied to the gate determines whether the switch is on or off. |
Real life uses :
Building circuits.
Places to visit :
Digital circuits.
Practical examples around us
| Examples | Explainations |
|---|---|
| Constant-voltage transformer | These transformers use a tank circuit composed of a high-voltage resonant winding and a capacitor to produce a nearly constant average output voltage with a varying input current or varying load. |
What you learn in Theory:
The purpose of a voltage regulator is to maintain a constant voltage across a load regardless of variations in the applied input voltage and variations in the load current.
What you learn in Practice:
If there is no load resistance, shunt regulators can be used to dissipate total power through the series resistance and the Zener diode.